Evaluating the Implementation of a Kidney Supportive Care Program into a Hospital and Health Service

Frail, vulnerable patients facing end of kidney life require access to a pathway of individualised care and treatment tailored to their needs. Terminal cancer patients, who have a similar symptom burden, have seamless access to specialist palliative and supportive care; however in many renal services, this is largely non-existent or, at best, occurs on an ad-hoc basis. This project is conducting a prospective, mixed-methods evaluation of a novel, transdisciplinary model of clinical care - the Kidney Supportive Care program (KSCp) at Metro North Hospital and Health Service (MNHHS). The KSCp works with specific groups of patients with advanced chronic kidney disease and is centred on shared decision-making with patients and carers, exploration of patients’ values and wishes, and provision of supportive care appropriate to individual symptom burden.

The project is funded by an Australian Centre of Health Service Innovation (AusHSI) Implementation Grant and the CKD.CRE.

Conclusions

This project will provide robust evidence of the individual-, service- and community-level benefits of a person-centred program and whether the KSCp is matching individual patient needs. It will also provide evidence regarding sustainability and translation into other health services.